Zero Charge
by Graphite Strokes
Summary: Strange things happen in Townsville. Even stranger things happen at night. Buttercup gets unfortunately burdened with responsibilities that can have deadly consequences...
1. Pursuit

_Hey, this is my first Powerpuff Girls Fanfiction! If you could review it and tell me what I did well on/what I need to improve on, that would be great! Thanks!_

_~Graphite Strokes_

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><p>Sure, <em>of course <em>it was an amicable city during daylight hours. All the little children come out to play with their friends and have fun after school. Adults go to work and come back to watch their little tykes. Most people throughout the city are going about their business. Everyone has somewhere to be or someone to meet.

At night, however, parents scurry their little angels inside, in fear of what lurks in the shadows down alleyways and behind every corner. With the moon arises Townsville's true colors. Streets are emptied of little playing children, and immediately fill with some rather unsavory characters. Down every now dim-lit street and in the shadows, their presence fills the air with an unsettling scent.

The city of Townsville.

_This_ is where our story begins.

Small white cars with blinking lights roll down every criminal-infested part of this city, headlights swinging through the darkness. High above these dark streets, a large mob of smoky clouds lie ominously. A glimmer of hope exists for this city yet.

Three streaks of pure light cut through the stillness and darkness of the night like knives; illuminating the eerie sky. Each is a different color; one being a light primrose, the other a bright cyan, and the last a striking neon green. These bright stars bring so much faith to the citizens of this city.

_The Powerpuff Girls._

Unique and special in their own way, they bring peace to this town full of crooks and criminals. As the girls patrolled the seemingly calm evening skies, they conversed.

"Alright girls, just one more sweep of the city, then we'll head home." Blossom, the leader announced.

"Sounds good to me," Her sister, Bubbles, replied.

"Yeah, whatever," Mumbled Buttercup, the third sister.

Looking below at the city with her bird's eye view, Blossom spots a single dark figure running down the empty streets of the small city.

_Why would someone be running that fast this late at night? And where to?_ Blossom thought to herself.

"Hey, look at that guy down there!" Bubbles pointed out, as if reading Blossom's mind.

"Don't worry, I'll handle that myself!" Buttercup said, as she cracked her knuckles and flew downwards to confront whoever the shady figure was.

"Wait!" Blossom exclaimed, too late. Bubbles just let out a sigh.

"Let her go, we'll end up in an argument if we try and stop her."

Blossom paused and looked at her blue-eyed sister.

"Alright. But if she doesn't come home before dinner, we need to go and get her."

Bubbles nodded her head in agreement and they both flew off, both worrying that their mischievous sister will get in some sort of trouble.

Rain pounded down like bullets as Buttercup dashed down the dark, smoggy alleyways as fast as she could.

_Stupid crook! Why can't he just surrender? _ Buttercup thought with rage. She cursed to herself as the criminal ran ahead down the winding paths.

_Come on! FASTER! _

Buttercup pushed herself as far as she could. She accelerated forward, and sped through the winding streets of Townsville, leaving a blazing trail of fire behind her. She smirked as the green blaze reflected into her fierce eyes and onto every single window she passed.

_Finally! There he is!_

As she closed in on the criminal, she could finally see what he really looked like. His face was hidden by a black fedora on his head, and his long, brunette hair was tied into a ponytail. On his back was a long black trench coat that went just below his thighs.

Strangely, he stopped. The crook turned to face Buttercup, his face still shadowed over. Buttercup skidded to a halt and the incandescent green flames were put out. She pointed at him, stepping closer as rainwater continuously hammered down on them.

"I've got you now! Don't even _try _to run away, punk!"

Suddenly, a nearby phone booth around the corner with a phone inside started to ring. The mysterious man checked his watch and ran to go pick up. Before he could even set his palm on the handle of the door, Buttercup had him cornered. She pointed her left palm at him, which was glowing with white energy. Sensing that he had no time to answer, or for this matter, get blasted; with a spin and pull of his cloak, he seemed to dissolve into thin air. The mysterious man had disappeared into the shadows, and was nowhere to be seen. The phone in the booth still ringing; so, thinking she might as well see what this was about, Buttercup stepped inside to dry off and answered the ringing telephone.

After picking up, she heard some strange static from the other end of the line. There was a loud, unsettling noise that sounded like distorted crashing, as if something just exploded.

Then the line went dead.

Buttercup felt strange chills run down her spine. There was something very unsettling about this… Suddenly, an unnaturally powerful strip of lightning ripped through the night sky and struck the small phone booth. Buttercup let out a bloodcurdling scream, her whole life flashing before her eyes. She fell to the ground, limp and lifeless. The phone dropped on the floor with a _clunk; _drowned out by the sound of the rain, still battering the shadowy lanes of the city.


	2. Nightmare

Buttercup's eyes opened. She felt groggy, as if waking up in the morning.

_Where am I?_ She thought.

She found herself lying down on her back, staring at the empty darkness above her. Something inside her told her that she had to get out of here. It didn't need to tell _her _twice. Buttercup sprang up to her feet. She tried to float off the ground, but her powers weren't corresponding.

How strange.

Not thinking much of it, she glanced around, taking a look at her surroundings. She couldn't see much, it was like being in the middle of an empty void. No matter how much she squinted, Buttercup couldn't see anything except for pure blackness.

Suddenly, something whizzed past her, leaving a strong wind in its path. Overwhelmed by the strong blast, Buttercup lost her balance and fell over.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" She yelled into the darkness.

No answer.

As she got up, Buttercup felt the strong wind _again,_ but she didn't dare fall over this time. She didn't want whoever it was to see her as _weak._

Only because she certainly wasn't.

"Don't even try pulling that again, it won't work on me!" She shouted at whatever was there. Buttercup regained her balance.

"Come out!"

She took a defensive position and prepared herself for another gust of wind. It never came.

_This is beyond strange,_ she thought.

Suddenly, an immense amount of steam filled the cavernous void. Buttercup covered her face and started coughing.

"Hey, what" –she coughed- "gives?"

Suddenly, the void didn't seem so wide or hollow. It seemed much smaller. The void also wasn't pitch-black anymore. It changed colors to a pure, almost blinding white. Buttercup rubbed her irritated eyes as she walked forward, right into a wall.

"Ack!"

Buttercup fell to the ground with a loud _thud, _her eyes shutting on impact_. _

_Will I ever get out of here?_

"Ah…Buttercup. I've been waiting for you."

Her eyes snapped open.

She found someone standing above her. Someone way too familiar. Buttercup scrambled to her feet and gave him the most threatening look she could muster.

"You! Did you bring me here? What do you want from me?" She spat.

He remained at a standstill.

"Relax," he simply replied.

Buttercup lowered her defense. If he didn't want to fight her…what _did _he want? He took a step closer.

"What do you want?" She cautiously asked. He didn't answer, but took a step closer. The mysterious figure lifted his fedora a little bit, just enough to reveal his deep gray eyes. He looked into Buttercup's green orbs for a few seconds.

Buttercup couldn't believe everything she was feeling…all these emotions at the same time. She felt as if he was piercing through her soul with that devouring stare. She felt darkness in his eyes, emptiness, yes; but she also felt something more mysterious. Buttercup felt happiness and sadness…and raging anger. All of these emotions intertwined with each other inside of her as the darkly-dressed character lowered his gray fedora, shadowing his eyes over once again.

She just stood there, thunderstruck.

Silence.

Then, he finally spoke:

"Heavy responsibilities can have deadly consequences."

Buttercup was dumbfounded. Her eyes widened.

"W-What do you mean…?" She stuttered.

Suddenly, the white void filled with black smoke and the mysterious figure seemingly dissolved into the shadows.

"Wait!" She yelled out.

Buttercup had so many questions to ask. What responsibilities? Deadly consequences? Who was he in the first place? Where did he come from, and how did he know who she was?

She started coughing violently, and collapsed on the ground.

"No! Wait!" She choked out.

Suddenly, bright lights. Very bright. Buttercup was sweating bullets. That was…a dream? _Strange,_ she thought. If it wasn't, then how did she get here? If it _was,_ what did it mean…?  
>Buttercup blinked out the last thoughts of that strange vision, looking around at her environment. She was lying down in a bed with white sheets. Her normal green dress with a black stripe had been replaced with a loosely-fitting white one, which was slightly longer than it should be. She could see a small desk off to the side, with various bottles and syringes and such. The room was small, with white walls and three chairs by the closed door.<p>

_A doctor's room? I'm in a hospital...?_

All of the memories flowed back in like a torrent of water.

The chase.

The phone booth.

The lightning.

Buttercup sighed heavily, but couldn't finish because she was interrupted by a cough. She started coughing violently, almost choking.

"Hey! Everything okay?" Bubbles popped out of nowhere, opening a door. Buttercup stopped coughing.

"B-Bubbles?" She rasped, her throat stinging.

Bubbles turned her head back into the other room she was halfway out of and shouted, "She's awake, guys!"

Blossom and the Professor entered the room.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright, Buttercup." The Professor said.

"Yeah, you really worried us!" Blossom added.

"You slept for a week straight!" Bubbles piped up.

_A whole week…? _Buttercup thought. Impossible. That vision about the mysterious person felt like it was only so long. Suddenly, Buttercup remembered what he said before she woke up.

"_Heavy responsibilities can have deadly consequences."_

And those eyes.

Those piercing, soul-devouring, endlessly deep gray eyes.

If only she knew what all of this meant.


	3. Lull

_The mysterious man, the void, those eyes… _Buttercup's thoughts were interrupted by a strict-sounding voice.

"Buttercup!" It was Blossom. Buttercup blinked, snapping out of her trance.

"W-What?" She managed to stammer out. "What, Blossom?"

"We were so worried about you!" She raised her voice.

"I know, I'm sorry."

She sighed. "It's okay…are you hurt?"

"I think I'm fine…"

"Do you remember anything that happened?"

"All I remember is chasing some guy down an alleyway…then I got struck by lightning and I passed out."

She wasn't going to include the details about the phone ringing and all the things in between her waking up. They couldn't know about that yet. Buttercup didn't want to make them even more worried than they already are. She didn't have any fatal injuries, but she knew that whatever scratches or bruises she had, in Blossom's mind they were probably multiplied to sound a hundred times worse than they really were. She knew that, though. That's just the way Blossom was.

"Buttercup, are you okay? Do you have any injur-"

"_Listen Blossom, I'm_ _fine, _so can we stop talking about it now?" Buttercup interrupted, losing her patience.

"Oh…alright…" Blossom's voice got quieter. There was a long silence.

"Well, the doctor said you can come home, but you need lots of bed rest." Bubbles' voice cut through the stillness. Blossom looked at her and nodded.

"You might not be able to fight crime for a while." She added. Buttercup shot up in her bed, sitting up straight.

"But why?" She asked, a look of worry coming over her face. Wasn't the Chemical X in them supposed to heal wounds or bruises in a shorter time than this? She couldn't just quit for a week. All three of them remember what happened when one of them was missing when they needed to fight crime.

"Buttercup, you were seriously damaged during that lightning strike…" Blossom's voice was stern.

Buttercup was starting to get worried. What would happen if she couldn't fight crime? She couldn't do anything except listen. If she tried to start fighting again, her condition might worsen.

Just not to worry her sisters, she replied with a "Whatever".

The Utonium family checked out of the hospital and got in the car to take Buttercup home. The silence during the car ride was so thick, you could cut through it with a knife. Not even Bubbles tried to start conversation. It felt like hours to Buttercup until they got home. Finally, they all got out of the car and Buttercup took in a deep breath of fresh air she hadn't felt in a while.

_It's really nice out, _she thought. _But they probably want me to stay inside…_

Buttercup walked inside with her family, lingering behind. Her mind was still stuffed full of questions, like the crust on a pizza. She almost didn't hear the Professor telling her that dinner would be ready soon. She snapped out of her thoughts.

She just responded with a bland "Okay" and floated up the stairs. She landed softly on the ground and walked into a room down the long hallway. Buttercup opened the door and slugged inside. For some reason, she didn't feel like talking to anybody. Not even her family. This is the place she went when days like these came across. It's not very special, but the laundry room helps her thoughts flow. Buttercup slowly floated up and placed herself in the red laundry basket, in between the bed sheets.

_Mmm…still warm…_

Since she didn't have her green blanket anymore, Buttercup started coming here to soothe her whirling thoughts and grumpy moods. As she got comfortable, she began to think. Maybe not so much though, because within the first five minutes of trying to click her thoughts into place, she started to feel drowsy. This is always the only problem with her special thinking place. Buttercup rolled on her side, feeling her eyelids getting heavy. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.

"Where's Buttercup?" Blossom raised her voice so Bubbles could hear her.

"I don't know, she went upstairs a half hour ago!" Bubbles replied.

"Want me to go get her?"

Bubbles nodded, and Blossom went upstairs in search of her sister. She looked everywhere she thought Buttercup could be, except the laundry room. Her family didn't exactly know she goes there on occasion. After ten minutes of searching, Blossom gave up and returned to Bubbles.

"I can't find her…" She uttered.

Bubbles looked a little worried.

"Well…let's not worry. She'll probably come back." Bubbles nodded in agreement, but was still worried since they'd already lost Buttercup once.

Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder rumbles above them, almost shaking the house. Bubbles shrieked and zipped over to the couch to hide under a pillow. Blossom didn't go that far, but she was still startled.

_That's so strange…didn't it just rain yesterday?_

Buttercup awoke with a start. She fell out of the laundry basket, the sheets inside it toppling over her. Buttercup scrambled to get up and ran over to the window in the bathroom, to see what the commotion was. The sky was coated with a gray smog, and rain was pouring down nonstop by bucketfuls. Lightning flashed brightly and thunder rolled through the air. Buttercup sighed.

_More rain?_

She sighed. Well, at least she didn't fall asleep for too long this time. Buttercup floated downstairs, rubbing her eyes.

"Where have you been?" Blossom scolded.

"Sorry." She mumbled, joining her family at the dinner table.

The Professor came back with four plates of food, each stacked on another.

"A little help?" He chuckled.

Bubbles and Blossom smiled, and helped him with the plates before they fell. They ate in silence for a little while, until the Professor noticed that Buttercup wasn't eating.

"Buttercup, is everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine…" She was poking at her mashed potatoes with her fork.

"Are you sure?" Blossom asked as well.

"Perfectly fine." Buttercup was getting a little angry.

"Really sure?" Bubbles pressed.

"_I'm fine, okay?"_

A loud clap of thunder boomed, startling Buttercup's family members. Lightning flashed.

"I'm not hungry…" She growled. Without asking to be excused, she angrily stomped upstairs.

The rain seemed to be coming down even harder now.


End file.
